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Orbitz Steers Mac Users to Pricier Hotels - Charged 30 Percent More

[caption id="attachment_706" align="alignright" width="267"] Orbitz Steers Mac Users to Pricier Hotels - Charged 30 Percent More[/caption]We have never given much thought to what Internet-connected device we use to make travel reservations, but with this new report which shows that Mac users end up paying 30% more on the travel site Orbitz, we definitely will pay more attention.

This is pretty shocking, and not a very good endorsement for Orbitz or Apple.

Orbitz Worldwide has found that people who use Apple's Mac computers spend as much as 30 percent more a night on hotels, so the online travel agency is starting to show them different, and sometimes costlier, travel options than Windows visitors see.

The Orbitz effort, which is in its early stages, demonstrates how tracking people's online activities can use even seemingly innocuous information -- in this case, the fact that customers are visiting Orbitz.com from a Mac -- to start predicting their tastes and spending habits.

Orbitz executives confirmed that the company is experimenting with showing different hotel offers to Mac and PC visitors, but said the company is not showing the same room to different users at different prices. They also pointed out that users can opt to rank results by price.

Orbitz found Mac users on average spend $20 to $30 more a night on hotels than their PC counterparts, a significant margin given the site's average nightly hotel booking is around $100, chief scientist Wai Gen Yee said. Mac users are 40 percent more likely to book a four or five-star hotel than PC users, Yee said, and when Mac and PC users book the same hotel, Mac users tend to stay in more expensive rooms.

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New iPhone 5 Connector May Make Already Purchased Accesories Obsolete

[caption id="attachment_699" align="alignright" width="402"] New iPhone 5 Connector May Make Already Purchased Accesories Obsolete[/caption]

Apple may be making a change to the design of connector for the iPhone 5 which is going to make iPhone users very angry!

It seems that Apple is switching from a 30-pin connector to a 19-pin connector on the new iPhone 5, which will make virtually all iPhone accessories purchased for previous iPhone versions instantly obsolete - and Apple hardware is not cheap!

Many Apple fans will roll with the change, and upgrade their phone and re-purchase all of their favorite accessories again, but we feel that there will be a good number of less hardcore iPhone users that will be turned off enough to switch to Android.

All those expensive iPhone accessories you own, all the stuff that plugs into the bottom of the device -- speakers, docks, chargers and so on -- may be about to become obsolete.

Tech blog TechCrunch reports that Apple plans to change the design and size of the connector for the iPhone 5. The old 30-pin connector, which has been the standard since the third generation iPod, is to be replaced by a 19-pin mini connector.

'It's clear Apple is more concerned with space savings inside each device.'

"TechCrunch has independently verified that Apple is working on adding a 19-pin port to the new iPhone. It is a move that will surely send shocks through the iPhone accessory ecosystem," the site wrote.

"The new port is similar in size to the Thunderbolt port available on many MacBook devices but [TechCrunch] has been told by three independent manufacturers that the pin-out will be different."

Leaked video footage claiming to be of the iPhone 5 shows a smaller connector.

Tech blogger Robert Scoble said the change would give Apple a tighter control on iPhone accessories.

"It will be nearly impossible to make unlicensed devices," he wrote on his blog. "Unfortunately these design goals mean making obsolete the something like 10 power chargers in my home. Sigh."

Awesome Robo's Sirio Brozzi wrote, "People are stunned by this possibility, myself included. I mean, why fix something that's not broken?"

Writing on Forbes.com, Dave Thier said "Apple is great at getting us to buy new products, and this may be one its biggest coups yet. The environment will suffer, like usual, but expect accessory manufacturers to make a mint after an uncomfortable transition."

Mashable reports the iPhone's dock connector "is about to go on a diet."

Apple has yet to respond to questions about the new connector design.

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New Apple iOS 6 Gives Government Back Door Access To Control Your iPhone

[caption id="attachment_692" align="alignright" width="300"] New Apple iOS 6 Gives Government Back Door Access To Control Your iPhone[/caption]Apple's new iOS 6 update for iPhones and iPads will include the hooks that the government's National Alerting Program (PLAN) would need to take over your iPhone. The government's PLAN program (Personal Localized Alerting Network) would allow the government to control all cellular communications, and allow the government to broadcast messages directly to anyone's cell phone or cellular device.

“Consumers will have the option to block all PLAN alerts except for those issued by the president”

Apple’s eagerly awaited iOS 6 update for iPhones and iPads will include controversial ‘government alerts’ that some fear are part of the federal government’s takeover of communications networks.

“In compliance with the National Alerting Program, the WEA will be coming to Apple devices that will run on the new mobile OS once it arrives this fall. The iOS 6-compatible devices include iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPod Touch 4G, iPad 2 and the new iPad. This means that users with older iPhone will be able to receive WEA messages once they upgrade their handset to the new mobile software,” reports AMOG.

The federal government is keen to implement a centralized system of control over all communications, with last year’s announcement that all new cell phones will be required to comply with the PLAN program (Personal Localized Alerting Network), which will broadcast emergency alert messages directly to Americans’ cell phones.

Although users can opt out of receiving the alerts from FEMA and the Amber Alert program, messages direct from the president will be mandatory.

“Consumers will have the option to block all PLAN alerts except for those issued by the president,” the L.A. Times reported last year.

The thought of cellphone users being forcibly targeted with text messages from Barack Obama during the election season has obviously stoked concerns that the emergency alert system could be exploited for political reasons, just as former Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge claimed he was pressured to artificially raise the national terror alert by the Bush administration to help Bush win re-election.

The system, which went live in the New York and Washington Metro areas last December, caused panic in New Jersey after Verizon customers received text messages warning them that a “civil emergency” was in progress and to “take shelter,” prompting alarmed citizens to flood 911 lines with anxious calls.

Verizon Wireless later apologized to its customers for causing alarm, admitting that the confusion was caused by a “test” of the PLAN emergency alert system.

As we have documented, the PLAN program is part of the wider move on behalf of Homeland Security to create a public environment dominated by a pervasive sense of fear and paranoia, a context in which the safe exercise of constitutional freedoms doesn’t normally thrive.

The emergency alerts are eventually designed to be incorporated into the Intellistreets system which turns all street lights into surveillance hubs that can record conversations and broadcast messages.

For the first time ever the feds will have a direct line to the millions of Americans who use cell phones and be able to use the messages to transmit whatever they like, whether that be genuine safety information, fearmongering about spurious terror alerts, or political propaganda.

Judging by the response in New Jersey, the overwhelming majority of Americans will simply react by panicking, which in a real emergency situation could only make the crisis worse.

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Microsoft's First Tablet - The Surface - Unveiled In Los Angeles

Microsoft, determined not to be left behind in the mobile computing explosion, has jumped into the tablet market with their new "Surface" tablet computer, which is just 3 millimeters thick, and under 1.5 pounds, and runs the Windows RT operating system.

We think it will at first be hard for Microsoft to compete with the Android-based mobile devices, due to the open source Android community, but with the amount of money that Microsoft has to throw at the problem, they will definitely make a good run at it.

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Microsoft has an answer to the iPad, and its name is Surface.

CEO Steve Ballmer was on hand to announce the company's new entry into the tablet space at Milk Studios in Los Angeles, calling it part of a "whole new family of devices" the company is developing.

Microsoft has been hit and miss in the hardware market, and when the company misses, it does so epically -- remember the Zune? But Microsoft's hardware successes have become billion-dollar innovations as well, such as the Xbox or the mouse, which Microsoft pioneered.

The market will decide whether the new Surface is a hit, but it sure has the look of one -- and it flies in the face of 35 years of partnerships with other companies, of putting Microsoft's software on other manufacturer's computers.

"They are saying it's a different world now and are trying to put the sexy back into the Microsoft brand," explained Gartner Inc. analyst Carolina Milanesi.

One version of the device, which won't go on sale until sometime in the fall, is 9.3 millimeters thick and works on the Windows RT operating system. It comes with a kickstand to hold it upright and a touch keyboard cover that snaps on using magnets. The device weighs under 1.5 pounds and will cost about as much as other tablet computers. Its debut is set to coincide with the upcoming fall release of Microsoft's much-anticipated Windows 8 operating system.

A slightly thicker version -- still less than 14 millimeters and under 2 pounds -- will work on Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8 Pro operating system and cost as much as an ultrabook, the company said. The Pro version comes with a stylus that allows users to make handwritten notes on documents such as PDFs.

Each tablet comes with a well thought-out keyboard cover that is just 3 millimeters thick. The kickstand for both tablets is just 0.7 millimeters, less than the thickness of a credit card.

Microsoft has been making software for tablets since 2002, when it shipped the Windows XP Tablet PC Edition. Many big PC makers produced tablets that ran the software, but they were never big sellers. The tablets were based on PC technology, and were heavy, with short battery lives.

Microsoft didn't say how long the Surface would last on battery power.

The more hands-on approach with its tablet indicates that Microsoft either lacks confidence in the ability of its PC partners to design compelling alternatives to Apple's iPad or it believes it needs more control to ensure Windows plays a major role in the increasingly important mobile computing market.

Steven Sinofsky, the president of Microsoft's Windows division, called the device a "tablet that's a great PC --a PC that's a great tablet."

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New iPad Overheating Problem

Why does Apple rush their devices out the door, only to realize that there are big problems with the device? With all of the problems that most Apple devices have right out of the box, it seems that Apple is more worried about raking in as much money as they can, as quickly as possible, instead of offering a quality product to the consumer.

Maybe they should have called it the Kindle Fire?

According to early user reports, the new iPad may be prone to becoming physically warm during use, especially in the lower left-hand corner when holding the iPad upright in portrait mode. The question of whether the iPad has a temperature problem has been asked on both the Apple Discussion Boards and in the MacRumors forums, and articles on CNET, The Next Web and Gizmodo have all brought unwanted attention to the new iPad's heat.

Typical of the complaints (via the Apple Discussion Boards):

Just got my new iPad. I'm loving the screen and speed but there's something weird about it. It gets rather warm/hot after 30minutes of usage. It has never happened on my iPad 2. Do you think it's harmless or .... ?

My 64gb, wifi/LTE new ipad is 96.8 degrees currently (and must have crafty artificial intelligence because it's as if it KNEW I'd brought out my laser temperature scanner and cooled down for reading). It has been very hot to hold, lower left side, since first use. I'll continue to monitor with scanner...

Mine is a 64 with WIFi and LTE - LTE not hooked up yet - got hot enogh that I measured with infared thermometer and it was 117 degree after 10 minutes - my little boy says its too hot to hold - (Great !) but seriously its not comfortable and I will be returning to the store

In some cases, the iPad has gotten so hot that an error screen appears, according to The Next Web, rendering the iPad temporarily inoperable with a simple message: "iPad needs to cool down before you can use it." (Funny, I used to say the same thing about myself in high school).

The uncomfortable heat has been attributed to the new iPad's larger battery and larger graphics chip. The iPad's new Retina display, with four times as many pixels as the screen on the iPad 2, as well as the optional 4G LTE chip, reportedly required a larger battery in order to maintain high battery life.

Apple did not immediately respond to request for comment. Until then, we will continue to monitor the iPad's hotness, both in consumer demand and physical, perhaps discomforting, warmth.

Technology News, Advice, Reviews & Opinion - techdevicereviews.org

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CES - Amazing Samsung Smart Windows

The Samsung Smart Window Display at the 2012 CES Show is pretty amazing!

Watch this video to see the very cool windows we will all be using in the near future.

I can't wait to have these in my house!

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Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 Review

[caption id="attachment_647" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Call of Duty - Modern Warfare 3 Review"][/caption]

After playing the new Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 (COD MW3) game on the XBOX360 for about 6 hours, we have seen enough of the game to give our website game review.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 - We give the game overall a C

The game is pretty, and plays decent, but is an overall let-down. The developers tried making some improvements since Call of Duty Black Ops, but in general, the game has many issues that could have been done much better.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 - Multiplayer Mode = C - Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 - Campaign Mode = B - Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 - Survival Mode = A

We are actually quite disappointed in many aspects of the latest installment of Call of Duty, but the biggest let-down in the new COD is the Multiplayer mode of the game. The highlight of the game for us so far has been the Survival Mode, which pits the player against wave after wave of different enemies. Very fun!

From the game sounds, to the guns and upgrades, to the horrible spawning; many aspects of the new COD game could be tweaked to make MW3 live up to the hype, but it definitely falls short.

MW3 Sounds

The sounds in MW3 are kind of weak and muffled. For people who use expensive Turtle Beach headphones, other than footsep sounds, the game sounds in MW3 will not help you as much as they did in Black Ops.

TERRIBLE MW3 Spawning!

Terrible is probably an understatement. The player spawning in Call of Duty Modern Warfare 3 is the worst spawning of any shooter we have ever reviewed. It is not uncommon at all to spawn basically right on top of the last guy who killed you, or even right next to 3 other player engaged in a fire-fight, when there was many other better spawn points at that point in the game.

Due to the horrible spawning in MW3, it is very hard to get a killstreak going, because as soon as you kill someone, they end up shooting you not 5 seconds later. This leads to frustration and more camping.

Sniping Glitch Still Exists

As in Black Ops, players quick-scoping, while using sniper rifles, can miss their target entirely, sometimes by a few feet, but still get credit for the kill. We really hoped they would fix the quick-scoping glitch, but maybe down the road, or in the next installment.

Call of Duty MW3 Maps

Everyone at techdevicereviews.com who has tested out the new game absolutely loves the new maps. The new MW3 maps are interesting, and there are many different ways to get to a specific location on the map, allowing you to surprise your enemies who are camping in one location.

We would recommend the new COD MW3 game to anyone who likes shooter games, and has not played Black Ops. For our taste, we have mostly gone back to Black Ops for a more enjoyable online multiplayer experience.

Next Review

The guys here at techdevicereviews.org prefer shooters, so our next review will most likely be the Battlefield 3 first-person shooter, for the XBOX360.

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Tech From Beyond: Steve Jobs Left 4 Years of New Products In Apple Pipeline

[caption id="attachment_641" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Apple - Steve Jobs"][/caption]Before he died, Steve Jobs had been involved in the starting phase of many new Apple products, or upgrades to their currently existing products. It is said that Apple has at least 4 years of products in their production pipeline, which were started by Steve Jobs, before his passing.

What an amazing guy! Steve Jobs will definitely be missed by millions upon millions of people, whether they used his products or not, and his selfless actions will ensure the stability of Apple and their employees jobs for years to come.

Despite knowing he was dying, Steve Jobs worked for more than a year on the products that he believed would safeguard the company's future.

It was also revealed today that Jobs fought hard to get plans approved for a spaceship-style company headquarters in California.

It will be big enough to hold 12,000 employees in a park-like setting near the existing base in Cupertino. He appeared at a town council meeting in June to plead for the planning go ahead.

Jobs had a part-time job working for Hewlett Packard at the site when he was 13 and he ensured Apple bought the land when it became available.

He has also been overseeing the development of the delayed iCloud project, which will allow Apple users to store their music, photos and other documents remotely and masterminding updated versions of the iPod, iPad, iPhone and MacBooks, ensuring at least four years’ worth of products are in the pipeline, according to Apple sources.

Pre-order sales of the first authorised biography of Steve Jobs increased by a staggering 44,000 per cent.

According to the official description, the book, out on October 24, is ‘based on more than 40 interviews with Jobs conducted over two years - as well as interviews with more than a hundred family members, friends, adversaries, competitors, and colleagues’.

Brand consultancy firm Interbrand predicted that Jobs death could actually boos the value of Apple by around $670million (£431million) from $33.5billion as fans make sympathy and impulse purchases.

Jobs died on Wednesday, aged 56, following a lengthy battle with pancreatic cancer.

Within minutes of his passing being confirmed, tributes had been paid by world leaders, the most famous technology bosses and fans throughout the world.

A day later, thousands continued to gather at shrines dedicated to Jobs from California to London, Sydney and Tokyo, Japan.

Well-wishers flocked to his home in California to leave flowers and cards, as his family mourned inside. Jobs is survived by a wife, a son and two daughters.

Devastated Apple staff, meanwhile, celebrated the life of their former boss with memorial services in his honour.

At Apple stores across the world and the company's headquarters, makeshift shrines quickly sprang up as Apple's legions of fans gathered together to remember the life of a man they revered as a hero.

'We are planning a celebration of Steve’s extraordinary life for Apple employees that will take place soon,' Apple chief executive Tim Cook said yesterday.

Global leaders from politics and business spoke out about how they had been inspired by the celebrated innovator.

Tributes, led by President Barack Obama, began pouring in within minutes of the company confirming Jobs's death.

'We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Jobs passed away today,' read a statement by Apple's board of directors on Wednesday.

'Steve's brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve.

'His greatest love was for his wife, Laurene, and his family. Our hearts go out to them and to all who were touched by his extraordinary gifts.'

The homepage of Apple's website switched to a full-page image of Jobs with the text, 'Steve Jobs 1955-2011.'

Clicking on the image revealed the additional text: 'Apple has lost a visionary and creative genius, and the world has lost an amazing human being.

'Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Steve have lost a dear friend and an inspiring mentor.

'Steve leaves behind a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple.'

His relatives also released a statement, which said he 'died peacefully, surrounded by his family.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2046397/Steve-Jobs-Dying-Apple-boss-left-plans-years-new-products.html#ixzz1a84aDH3U

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